Data Scientist

The Data Scientist will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation’s mission by leveraging data to inform strategic decisions and initiatives in a public health organization. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements.

Working within the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Data and Informatics Specialist will develop and maintain sustainable Tableau dashboards that translate complex public health data into clear, actionable insights, while collaborating with epidemiologists and stakeholders to gather requirements, ensure accurate and compliant data visualization, and support data-driven decision-making.

The Data Scientist will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Illinois Department of Public Health Informatics team. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates., * Design, develop, and maintain high-quality, sustainable Tableau dashboards and visual analytics products that provide timely, accurate, and actionable insights to inform public health decision-making.

• Partner with internal programs, epidemiologists, and external stakeholders to gather requirements, understand analytic needs, and translate business and public health questions into effective visualization solutions.
• Analyze and interpret complex, multi-source public health datasets to identify trends, patterns, and insights relevant to policy, operations, and population health outcomes.
• Translate complex data and analytic findings into clear, intuitive, and accessible visualizations for audiences with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Ensure accuracy, consistency, and data integrity across dashboards by applying visualization standards, data validation practices, and organizational governance requirements.
• Design and publish visualizations that comply with data suppression, privacy, and confidentiality standards appropriate for public health data.
• Apply Tableau and data visualization best practices to ensure dashboards are scalable, well-structured, and maintainable over time.
• Document data sources, business logic, assumptions, and dashboard functionality to support transparency, reuse, and long-term sustainability.
• Communicate insights through dashboards, reports, and presentations that effectively support leadership, partners, and decision-makers.
• Provide analytic and visualization support to inform public health programs, initiatives, and policy development.
• Stay current with emerging trends, tools, and methodologies in data visualization, analytics, and public health informatics, and apply innovative approaches to improve analytic capabilities.
• Up to 10% domestic travel may be required., This role is involved in a dynamic public health program. As such, roles and responsibilities are subject to change as situations evolve. Roles and responsibilities listed above may be expanded upon or updated to match priorities and needs, once written approval is received by the CDC Foundation in order to best support the public health programming.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Data Science, Statistics, Epidemiology, Informatics, Computer Science, or related field. Master’s or PhD in related field preferred.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant professional experience developing data visualizations and dashboards using Tableau
• Strong experience in visualization tools, specifically Tableau
• Familiarity with data manipulation and analysis tools (e.g., SQL, Python).
• Experience applying data privacy, suppression, and confidentiality standards in dashboards and reports.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to interpret complex datasets and derive meaningful insights.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Professional certifications in data visualizations (Tableau Desktop Specialist or Certified Data Analyst) or public health analytics preferred.

• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; collegial; energetic; and able to develop productive relationships with colleagues, partners, and partners.

• Demonstrated ability to work well independently and within teams

• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.